


A Flower By Any Other Name...

by MysticWolfShadows



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Hanahaki Disease, One-Sided Attraction, Pepper did something she shouldn't have, Why Did I Write This?, dying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 18:42:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15149465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysticWolfShadows/pseuds/MysticWolfShadows
Summary: Tony never wanted to tell anyone about how he felt. He also never wanted to get a deadly disease caused by being in love with someone that would never return that love, but there were the flowers, sitting in a the puddle of blood that he had just coughed out of his lungs.





	A Flower By Any Other Name...

**Author's Note:**

> Found out about the Hanahaki trope and I just had to write something for it! Hope you all enjoy. For anybody who hasn't seen this before, here's its Fanlore page: https://fanlore.org/wiki/Hanahaki_Disease

Tony had loved Captain America as a kid. He had loved the stories his Aunt Peggy told him, loved the hero, loved the legend. He had kept a poster on his wall, and had all the comics. Because Captain America was his hero.

When Tony met Steve Rogers, he had tried to hate him. He really had. But he couldn’t keep himself from just… falling in love with Steve. Not the hero worship that he had as a kid, but actual love. He loved the way Steve would try to draw the team when he thought they wouldn’t notice, and the look he got when he felt he had accomplished something. Hell, Tony even loved the way Steve’s brow would get this little crinkle in it when he was confused about something.

He never thought it was a problem. The Hanahaki disease was rare, even more then it had been in Steve’s time, with barely one in a billion a year even getting to the point the flowers manifest. After all, so many people were desensitize to the feeling of true love. But he didn’t truly love Steve, right? Turns out he did.

The first time it happened, he was sitting in his workshop, taking a break and checking on how everyone was doing in the tower. He'd seen Natasha and Clint in the gym, and then Bruce in his lab, and Thor off on Asgard. Steve, on the hand, was on the roof, lounging in a chair and drawing in a book. The camera was at just the right angle to let Tony see the amazing drawing of the New York skyline, the Iron Man swooping over the buildings.

For a moment, Tony had been touched, loving the way that Steve seemed to draw every little detail of the armor. Sure, Steve probably had drawings of the other Avengers to, but this one was of Tony. It made him feel… special.

And then the coughing started. It began with a tingle in the back of his throat, making him try to clear, but that only led to him coughing. He coughed and coughed, on hand over his mouth as he reached out wildly for something to cough into. It felt like something was in his throat, working its way up, and his hand was already wet with something that wasn’t spit. Finally, he gave one final hack, a glod of wetness landing in his palm.

He pulled his hand away, and dread instantly fell over him. In his hand was splatters of blood. And in that blood was a mix of white and red flower petals.

Tony spent the next several hours looking into what was going on. He researched the Hanahaki disease, and found an informational awareness foundation that took donations to help fund treatment for the infected that couldn’t afford it. There wasn’t much run on the site anymore, though, since after about 2001, the number of people getting Hanahaki started dropping quickly from 200 a year worldwide to barely 10 a year worldwide. Even with its low infection count, it had a near 100% death rate. Not because it didn’t have a treatment or cure, because it did. A terrible one.

If Tony didn’t want to die from a bunch of red and white carnations growing in his chest, eventually suffocating him to death, he could go to a special surgeon, who happened to live in New York, and get them removed. There was, however, a side effect that made the treatment undesirable. If the flowers were surgically removed, every feeling every memory, of the person the feelings were aimed for would be gone. Tony would lose every memory of Steve. Another option would be for Steve to return the feelings, and kiss Tony to prove it like in some fairy tale.

Tony looked up how long he had to live. Could be anywhere from six weeks to three months. He needed to start getting things ready for when he was gone.

One of the first things he did was rewrite his will. The Avengers would get half his fortune, and the deed to the Tower, meaning the tourist attractions on the lower floors would continue making money. That, in connection with the money he would leave them, should leave the team feeling safe and comfortable for at least another decade or two. Maybe three if they were frugal with the spending. He also left them Jarvis, who he would have to upgrade one last time and rewrite some protocols before he kicked the bucket.

Rhodey and Pepper would both get a third of the leftover fortune, while Rhodey would get all of Tony’s suits and get to share Jarvis with the Avengers. Pepper would also get all of Tony’s art collection, though it was pretty much hers anyways. The remaining third would be split between the many, many charity organizations Tony had been involved in. He just had to get everything else ready before his time was up.

So he started with Jarvis. He wrote updates, rewrote protocols and got Jarvis ready for when he’d be gone. He spent so many hours in the lab, trying to keep his mind away from Steve to keep from aggravating the disease growing in his chest and lungs. It didn’t work very well, though, since Steve seemed to be the one to come and get him when they had team things, or when he didn’t eat.

Each time Steve came down, Tony would be sure to keep his back to the door, try to trick himself into thinking it was anyone else, but it never worked. He’d start coughing, spitting out more and more petals each time until a week passed and he started to need to use a handkerchief to hide the petals when Steve came down or when Tony saw him.

“You don’t sound to good, Tony,” Steve always said. “You sure you don’t need a doctor?”

“I’m fine,” Tony said as he hid the flowers in the cloth. “Just a chest cold. Did you need something, Steve?”

“The team’s gathering for a movie night,” Steve replied. It was always something about the team. ‘The team was having a game day’ or ‘Team breakfast’. It was never just Steve… “Do you think you’re alright enough to come join us?”

Tony wanted to say yes. He always did when it came to Steve. Sure, he’d put up a front, say that he didn’t, but he did. He loved seeing the smile that Steve would get, so big and bright, just for Tony. But he had been up for two days straight, coughing up blood and flowers to often, since he was getting rather dizzy.

“No,” Tony said, and he saw the surprise in Steve’s eyes. He felt the tingle in the back of his throat as his heart twisted in pain, and he quickly reached for the handkerchief before he started coughing again. Steve moved to step closer, but Tony held up his hand to stop him. When it subsided, and Tony had hidden the flowers, he laid back in the chair and took a second to breath. “I’m actually… going to get some rest. See if I can’t get a handle on this cold.”

“I really think you should see a doctor,” Steve said. “Maybe they can give you something to make it a bit easier.”

Tony should his head. “I’ll be fine, Steve. Go have fun.”

It took a second, but Steve eventually left, and Tony leaned back in his chair.

After a long rest, Tony went to work to get ready from week two. He had the strangest feeling that he was going to die sooner then six weeks. It felt like three, with how fast he seemed to be progressing. He had to change the overrides on the lab doors, blacked out the windows entirely and locked everyone out without permission.

He had started coughing up to many flowers, no longer able to slow the flowers down by not thinking about Steve. Every few hours, he would descend into a coughing fit as petals and entire flowers spilled from his lips. They made piles under his feet that Dum-E would sweep up, and Tony would have to take a nap to regain some energy. He grew paler and paler, and he knew that the final stage of the sickness would be coming quick. He had to tell Pepper, Rhodey, the team… Soon, he wouldn’t be able to walk, and then not be able to talk, before he slipped into a coma for the remained of his time with the disease.

It started with Pepper, Tony having Jarvis call her in, and her alone. He knew the team had been trying to get in, but all of them failing. He didn’t want them to know all at once. So he called in Pepper first, because she was Pepper, so strong and brave, even with his ridiculousness.

“Tony,” she was scolding as she came in. “What the hell is going on? Your team has been saying you won't let them in and-” It was then that she noticed his sheet white face, his heaving chest, and the pile of bloodied flowers Dum-E was sweeping away. “Oh god…”

“I know,” Tony wheezed as he closed his eyes. “I don’t have long, Pep. So I gotta make this quick.”

“How long,” she asked. “Who?”

Tony shook his head, chucking drily. “So far? The first petals were about two weeks ago. And you know who.”

“Two weeks?” Even with his eyes closed, Tony could tell that she was crying. “But Tony… That’s… It’s going to fast! At this rate, you’ll-”

“Be in a coma before Friday? Yeah, I know. That why I’m doing this now before I really do go under. Say goodbye, tell you what I need to.”

“You can get the surgery,” Pepper wept. “You can get them removed, just let me call an ambulance, and we’ll make sure you make it.”

“And forget him?” He coughed, some more petals falling into his lap, only for Dum-E to gently pick them up. “You know I can’t do that, Pepper. I can’t imagine living my life not remembering meeting him for the first time, or all the good times we’ve had. My entire time as an Avenger, that would probably go to… I can’t do that.”

“So before I go, I just wanted to tell you, I could have never asked for a better secretary, CEO, or friend. You were my back bone for so many years, my number one support. If not for you, I would have probably died tragically years ago. So, I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, someday.”

She came forward to wrap her arms around him, squeeze him tight as tears streamed down her face. When she let him go, she ran out of the room. Jarvis opened the door for the next person who wanted to see him, and Rhodey came in. He looked furious, but like Pepper, his expression changed when he saw Tony.

Rhodey didn’t let him say anything, though. They sat in forlorn, companionable silence for a while before Rhodey eventually gave him a hug and a salute, and let Natasha in. She didn’t say anything, but at least her expression changed when she saw him. He explained everything, and she eventually nodded and left. It could have just been his ding mind, but he could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. She would tell Clint for him. After all, Clint didn’t do sad and dying well.

Bruce came in next, but had to leave as soon as he saw Tony since he started going green. Thor got intercepted on the way down, and led the Hulk out so Tony didn’t accidentally die by green fist instead of, well, a chest full of carnations. Which left… Steve.

His teammate came down slowly, his face already contorted with worry, and turned into absolute horror when he saw Tony. Tony closed his eye, trying to think of what to say. He couldn’t tell Steve about how he felt. Not right before he died. And he couldn’t tell Steve how much he really meant to him.

Instead, he started to cry. Tears spilled from his eyes, and he could hear Steve’s voice in his ears as a buzzing noise. Tony was going to die, and he couldn’t even tell Steve what he really meant to him. How Tony valued his approval, but not enough that he obsessed over it, or how Tony loved to see him laugh. He couldn’t tell Steve how he wanted nothing more then to Steve smile at him, just once, before he went.

“Tony?” He heard Steve say as his body went limp, the words like static in his ears. “Tony, stay with me! Tony?! Jarvis call an ambulance!”

_It’s okay_ , Tony wanted to say as everything started to fade away. _It’ll be okay, Steve. You’ll be taken care of when I’m gone, so you don’t have to worry. Everything will be fine._

XxXXxX

Tony woke up with his chest feeling tight.

He was in a hospital room, a monitor beeping next to his bed as he looked around. He didn’t know why he was here, and he felt like he was forgetting something. There were cards beside his bed, opened to stand neatly. Beneath the blanket, he could see his entire chest covered in bandages. Off to the side, Pepper sat in a chair, lightly dozing.

“Pepper,” he rasped, voice hoarse and scratchy. “Pepper.”

His friend and ex-girlfriend jumped, looking up at him in surprise. “Tony,” she breathed. “Oh, god… You’re awake…”

“What happened?” he asked, moving to rub at the banagages around his torso. They were starting to itch… “Why am I here? You know how much I hate hospitals.”

“Just…” She swallowed, and stood. “Just hold on. I’m going to get a nurse.”

Pepper rushed off, leaving Tony to wonder in confusion why he was here. Had he been out with the others and gotten hit or something? Why couldn’t he remember?

As he was contemplating this, the door opened again, and Tony turned to look as a blond man stepped in. He didn’t seem to notice that Tony was awake, and simply came forward, and placed a vase of carnations on the table next to the cards. Eventually, he noticed Tony looking at him, and went wide eyed.

“Tony,” he gasped, and tears welled up in blue eyes, large hands coming to take one of Tony’s. “Oh thank god! You’ve been out for weeks, and after what happened- I’m so glad you’re okay! No one’s been telling me what’s going on, and after you fainted, I was so worried. What happened?”

“I’m sorry,” Tony said, pulling his hand away. “But who are you?”


End file.
